Life on the run for man in stab horror

A BLIND grandad who killed intruder Lee Kelso at his home has been told he will not be prosecuted - but his life now lies in ruins. He has been forced into hiding after his home was torched just days after the incident.

A BLIND grandad who killed an intruder at his home has been told he will not be prosecuted - but his life now lies in ruins.

Thomas O'Connor, 62, and his wife, were moved out of their home immediately after Lee Kelso suffered fatal stab wounds during a violent confrontation there in June.

They are now living at a secret address away from Greater Manchester.

The couple's children and grandchildren have also left the area because they fear for their safety.

The O'Connors' home on Stockport's Brinnington estate was torched soon after the stabbing in a suspected revenge attack.

Mr Kelso, 23, died during surgery after being stabbed once in the stomach and once in the right side of his chest at the O'Connors' home .

There were unconfirmed reports that Mr Kelso had been urinating in the elderly couple's garden, which is next to a pub, when a confrontation flared which ended in tragedy.

Mr O'Connor is blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other and can only see shadows.

Collapsed

He also walks with a stick and suffers from several health complaints.

He told police that he stabbed Kelso after he found the younger man, who had broken through his front door, threatening to harm him and his wife.

When police arrived, they found the door kicked out of its frame and Mr O'Connor collapsed in the garden. Mr Kelso managed to stagger several yards to the grounds of the Farmer's Arms and he was then taken to Stepping Hill Hospital, where he died.

Greater Manchester Police decided not to prosecute Mr O'Connor after the Crown Prosecution Service and a top lawyer said it would not be possible to disprove that Mr O'Connor had acted in self-defence and that legal action was not "in the public interest".

Police were today stressing the case of Mr O'Connor does not compare with that of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who shot dead a burglar at his farmhouse.

And they said that the O'Connor case should not be seen as the green light for people to take the law into their own hands.

Mr Martin was initially jailed for murder after he unsuccessfully argued that he had acted in self-defence when he opened fire. His murder conviction was later reduced to manslaughter.

When asked about comparisons with the case of Mr Martin, Det Chief Insp Ian Foster, of Stockport police, said: "This is not a true comparison, this is not a like-for-like case.

"This case stands purely on its own merits and does not reflect the circumstances in the Tony Martin case.

"We feel it is important to point out that this decision refers to this case specifically - and it should not be taken as an indication that people can take the law into their own hands."

Today, the O'Connors' house, which is next to the Farmer's Arms pub car park, was still boarded up and the outside walls visibly blackened by the fire, which happened days after the stabbing.

Fears

After Mr Kelso's death, bunches of flowers were placed outside the pub, along with a picture of Mr Kelso cradling his young son.

An inquest into Mr Kelso's death is expected to be held later this year.

According to neighbours, the O'Connors' children and their grandchildren have also been forced to move away from the estate because of fears of reprisals.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "He was a quiet old man who lived there most of his life and brought his children up there. Now all his family, including his grandchildren, have had to move out of Brinnington. It is very, very sad."

Another resident said: "He was a 62-year-old man who stabbed a 23-year-old.

"He must have been pushed to the limit. At the end of the day, I would have done the same - you protect yourself and your family. You don't think, you just act.

"He might not be being punished by the police, but he has lost his home.

"He will have to live with the fact that he has killed someone and now he will always have to be looking over his shoulder."